Beauty has mystical aura! It has the power to attract one and all! Across the cultures and ages diverse standards have defined women’s beauty, even though a given society has a stereotypical / clichéd image of what they would call beautiful. Over the years akin to everything else these ideas of beauty have also undergone transformation. If voluptuous was considered desirable in the 70s, petite is in today. Women too have not spared any pain to adhere to the defined norms of beauty.
Who doesn’t know the efforts women puts in to gain that size zero figure, so glamorized by the media? Giving up on mouth watering delicacies to live on boiled vegetables that to in measured quantities in no mean feat. For over 1000 years Chinese use to consider women with small feet as beautiful; drastic measures were taken to achieve the desired smallness, causing a lot of discomfort and at times permanent disabilities. Thankfully the practice has ended.
What has not ended is the obsession with the right skin tone which is a diversified dilemma all over the globe. In Western countries multi billion dollar tanning industry is thriving without regulations despite the people being increasingly aware of the numerous health risks including sun burns and skin cancer tanning causes. In East, hundreds of fairness creams sold for men and women both. What’s more they come together with a fairness meter as well! Why can't we just be contented with what we have and adore the colorful rainbow which is making this world an exceptionally alluring place to live.
Haven’t we raised the physical beauty to unjustified magnitude even though the physical beauty fleeting? It’s bound to fade, with age or with illness, with time the form changes too. It’s the real beauty of women that is permanent. It’s the real beauty of the women that stays with her till her very last breath.
Real beauty means much more then an attractive visage, the right skin tone, enviable contours and the labels women flaunt. Beauty is beyond a woman’s hair and make-up. It’s about poise, confidence and elegance. The way she sets out to conquer the world despite all odds and leaves her mark. It’s about being happy and healthy. It’s about nurturing talent; about her intellect and wisdom. It’s about her inherent grace and charm. It’s also about her compassionate and caring nature; the way she sacrifices her little pleasures to accommodate her loved ones wishes; about the way she makes others feel special. It’s also about her endurance capabilities too, the way she smiles through the pain and is ready to face yet another day of endless chores at home and still manages to give her best at that all important official meeting and come back to escort her lil one to the friend’s birthday party. It’s about her giving and forgiving disposition. It’s about the warmth she radiates. It’s about being at peace with herself and her environment. It’s about being comfortable in her skin, about her whole persona, about her very essence, about her soul. Beautiful soul makes the form look beautiful as well.
We are not saying that physical attributes don’t matter at all, they do. After all who isn’t attracted to a glamorous person? Taking care of appearance too is very crucial. The fact remains, if we choose, to we all can look beautiful. Maintaining healthy skin and hair is vital to looking beautiful. Having a well balanced diet, exercising to stay fit, build up stamina and an appropriate Body Mass Index are important milestones on a women’s journey to look lavishing. The right body posture and language add to the women’s classiness and makes her all the more gorgeous. As we said it’s not about flaunting labels, but there is no denying that dressing according to one’s body type, season and of course the occasion and carrying that off with élan enhances the personality.
For team Local Fashioners, we all are beautiful in our own way, some in flesh, some spiritually, some intellectually, others have talent and still others have a heart of gold and a lucky few have a deadly combination of all these!!!
BY PUJA MALIK
